And They Said Speak Now
by KlainesBowties
Summary: Chris feels his heart breaking more and more everyday because Darren's getting married. And he's the best man. Based on Taylor Swift's Speak Now.


**A/N:** **Based on Taylor Swift's Speak Now :) **

I walked through the beige-walled hallways, trying to ignore the red and white roses at every interval. I ignored the people staring at me and whispering behind my back; I knew they were all talking about how weird it was that I was here. I didn't care, I had to be here. Not being here would be just as hard as being here, classic game of catch 22. I just had to pick my poison correctly. This particular type of poison was horrible however; I knew it was going to hurt being here, especially in my particular situation. I had butterflies in my stomach, my head was pounding in anticipation, everything felt as if I was about to pass out, but I had to go through with this.

I walked by the large room and peeked in, hoping no one would see me. They all seemed too busy, running around and fixing their hair and makeup. One girl was working at her makeup, only causing her to start yelling at the girl to _try to do something fucking right for a chance._ I couldn't hold back a frustrated sigh, staring her up and down and shaking my head. This isn't what he wanted. This wasn't what he'd ever want. I knew him better than her, yet she's the one in the separate room getting ready to marry the love of my life. I turned around and left the room, trying to get the images of the hideous dresses out of my head.

I knew my next stop would be the most painful, the one where I'd have to pretend that everything was fine and okay, even when it was the furthest thing from okay. I opened the door a little and looked in, looking over at the lone man in the room in front of a full length mirror. He looked absolutely breath taking, even if I knew this wasn't what he wanted to look like on this day. His beautiful curls were gelled back too much for his liking, the tux he was wearing was one he'd never pick himself, and he wasn't even smiling. He should, technically, be smiling, yet he wasn't. That was the worst part, knowing he wasn't even happy through all this.

"I look like shit," he grumbled to himself, unknowing of my presence. He shook his head and tried to fix his hair in the mirror, to no avail; he hated his hair like this so much, more than probably anything. Everyone knew it, but she liked it like this, so she got her way. She always gets what she wants, and I wasn't about to let her get this too.

"I think you look gorgeous, but that's just my opinion," I said, walking into the room and over to shorter man, letting my hands move up to his hair, trying to fix it for him. If he was going to go through with it he was going to at least look how he wanted. "Then again, what does it count what I think? I'm just the ex-boyfriend," I smiled softly, continuing to fix at his hair.

Darren sighed and nodded, looking down as I continued to ruffle and tug at his hair. "You know you're more than that. You're my best friend," he whispered.

"Yeah, and you're mine. I told you I'd be here for you today if you wanted me to be," I whispered, finally getting his hair to a not as horrible state. I moved my hand down to the black bowtie he was wearing and started to untie it.

I let out a gentle laugh; I'd forgotten how much he couldn't dress himself when he was nervous. My hands worked swiftly as I untied then retied the bowtie, trying my very best not to look into his gorgeously breathtaking, hazel eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked, I could feel his eyes boring into my head but I kept ignoring his gaze.

"You fucked up your bowtie, Dare," I said gently, retying it and gliding my hands down to his waist, straightening out his suit in the process. I wanted to let my hands linger there, to hold him tight and ask him to give me one more chance, but instead I just pulled them away. "That's better."

"Thanks, Chris," He whispered. I moved away from him and looked at my own reflection. I had bags under my eyes and honestly, I looked like absolute shit. I hadn't slept well for weeks, and none in the last few days. I kept waking up from nightmares of this day or just waking up and remembering that Darren was really no longer mine. It'd always been hard to sleep without him next to me, but especially since they announced their damn engagement.

Last night was probably the worst. I'd never cried so hard in my life, even though by the time this was all over with I was sure crying was going to be a regular thing. I couldn't believe I had to stand up there with him and watch him marry _her. _

We were both quiet for a while, sitting next to each other yet not speaking to or looking at the other. There was so much I'd like to say, so much I'd wanted to say since the day we broke up two years ago. We'd broken up over something stupid anyway. It was a pointless argument that the twenty-two year old version of me didn't have the sense to fight. I gave up, then again so did Darren. Now we were both two years older, and I hoped we were both two years wiser.

"You really don't have to be here," Darren finally broke the silence, looking over at me and sighing gently. "Really, it's okay. I shouldn't have even have asked you to be my best man. It just… happened…" his voice trailed off as he looked down and away from me.

I scooted over a little more, our legs pressing against each other. "I want you to be happy, Dare. If Mia makes you happy… who am I to stand in the way?" I smiled at him what I was sure was the saddest, most pathetic smile ever. I knew he wasn't happy, but what could I do about it?

Darren took my hand with another sigh. He gave it a gentle squeezed and we both locked eyes. We dated for almost three years, and yet this made my heart jump. I shook my head a bit and went on before Darren had a chance to say anything. "We broke up a long time ago, Honey, and you've always been my best friend."

He smiled a little bit and leaned in to hug me. I nuzzled my nose into his neck, trying not to let out the tears I knew were just about to fall. "You're the best, Chris. Whatever guy that actually ends up with you is going to be really lucky."

I let out a soft, humorless chuckle. I was done with relationships. Darren was my soul mate; there was no way I could ever be with another guy. I hadn't even looked at another guy in the last two years and Darren was getting married.

"Darren?" We both pulled away at the sound of the voice outside. I hadn't heard the knock on the door at first; I was too busy holding onto Darren. It didn't make sense, Darren wasn't moving away, yet I felt as this would be the last time I'd ever hug him, ever be able to feel his strong arms around me. Just the thought alone made me sick to my stomach.

"Come in," Darren said as he stood up. I fought the urge to flop back on the bed and let out a sob of frustration and heartbreak. I wanted to curl up somewhere where no one could find me; even more I wanted to go somewhere where Darren was still mine. I wanted this to be _my_ day, not hers. I wanted to be the one holding Darren's hand and saying "I do."

"You have to be out there in five minutes," It was Chuck's voice. He looked passed Darren and over at me with a look I knew very well. After the long while Darren and I had dated Chuck and I had become pretty good friends, so I know for a fact that this was his_, I'm so sorry,_ look. I shrugged a tiny bit in his direction before standing up.

Darren took a deep breath and turned to me with a look in his eyes that was almost too much for me to take. His eyes were so deep, showing me just how nervous he really was. "Guess this is it," he whispered in my direction.

I let out another a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding and nodded at him. "Yeah, guess it is." We smiled at each other once more and I walked towards him, wrapping my arms around him. I closed my eyes and fought against the tears about to fall. I wanted to tell him I loved him, I wanted to tell him that he was my world, I wanted to tell him that I would never be happy with anyone else in my life, but I knew I couldn't. Darren was getting married, and not to me. I felt him bury his face into neck and squeeze me around my waist. My heart ached to kiss him, to do something other than feel heartbroken over him; even though I knew that'd never be a possibility. I let my hand run softly through his hair as I prayed, something I never did, that he'd be happy, that she'd treat him the way he deserved, that she'd love him the way I would if our roles were reversed, that he'd one day be as happy with her as I was with him.

Darren was the first to pull away, he moved his hand to run gently along my cheek and he leaned up a tiny bit to press a kiss to my cheek. "You're the best friend ever, Chris," he whispered.

"Yeah, so are you," I whispered back, knowing that the tears in my eyes were going to fall in a matter of seconds.

_No! Don't go! Stay with me, love me! Not her! Why are you doing this to me? I still love you Darren! Please don't go! Don't marry her! Please! _I wanted to scream. I wanted to run to him, wrap my arms back around him and beg him to love me forever, but I didn't.

The shorter man pulled his hand away and walked past his brother without a word, which seemed unusual to me. As Darren walked out the door and out to where I assumed the ceremony was being held Chuck walked further into the room and over to me.

"You know he's still in love with you, right?" he asked nonchalantly. I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows slightly; he said it as if he were telling me who the president was, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're insane. We broke up two years ago, and why would he be marrying _her _if he's still in love with me?" I asked. The thought entered my head again that I'd really have to go out there and stand behind Darren while he married her made the supply of tears heavier at my eyes, but I pushed them away.

"How much longer are you going to tell yourself? Everyone knows that he loves you, Chris. It's obv-"

"Then why did he propose to her?" I yelled, all the anger I'd been holding inside coming out in a matter of seconds. "Why would he propose to such a horrible bitch if he could be with me? I know I'm not that great but I would never in a million years treat him like she treats him!"

I had tears falling down my face but I didn't care. I barely even noticed. Chuck took a few steps closer to me and looked me in my tear filled eyes. "He didn't propose to her. She kept asking him if he'd ever propose and he said that he wasn't sure. Eventually he gave up the hope that you'd ever want him back and gave in. One day when she asked he said, 'Fine, if you want to get married so fucking bad then let's do it.' He doesn't even lover her Chris, he's always loved you. I know he does."

My heart sped up a little and I moved my hand to my face to wipe away the tears. "How do you know?" I asked with a voice hardly even audible.

"He's my little brother. I know these things," he said with a smile. He shrugged a bit, "That and last night he told me that the only reason he was marrying her was because you deserve better…"

"You're serious?" I spat out, I couldn't believe this was happening. "He's marrying her because he thinks _I _deserve better? Is he stupid?"

"Yeah, he is. I'm the brains in the family," he smirked and I rolled my eyes at him before moving to run out the door. "Where are you going?" he called after me, starting to follow me but I wouldn't stop moving.

"To stop your idiot brother from getting married!" I yelled back at Chuck, my legs moving faster than my brain. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I wanted to think about what I was going to say and do, but I couldn't bring myself to stop running. I had to get out there before he was at the altar.

I had never hated anyone more than I hated the people who picked this venue. It was complete with twist and turns and I couldn't for the life of me find my way to where the ceremony was actually being held. This was nothing like the wedding I knew Darren really wanted. We'd planned out our wedding when we were dating; it was nothing official, just something we did for the fun of it. We were both dreamers and dreaming out our perfect wedding was something we both loved doing.

It wasn't going to be anything extravagant. A simple wedding on a beach, that's what we had agreed on. We loved the idea of being married outside, having the ocean behind us; it was all so ideally perfect.

"Chris? It's about time you got here…" Dianna said, running to me in her ugly pastel dress. I knew for a fact she hated it too, I could tell by the way she moved in it.

"Dianna? W-what are you…?" I asked, out of breath from all the running I'd done. A tuxedo definitely isn't the best jogging outfit.

"We're supposed to be walking down the aisle in like," she looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed, "Now!"

"I don't get it… why are you even a bridesmaid?" I asked her.

She shrugged and took my hand. "Mia planned a really fucked up wedding, okay? Who knows?" She said as she pulled me along to the ceremony hall. She walked through the halls quickly, eventually pulling me to the large room, decorated with flowers and ribbons.

"Dianna... I need to talk to, Darren," I said as she hooked her arm around mine.

"Too late for that, Sweetie. He's already up there," I looked up to the front and saw Darren standing at the front of the room. He was paler than anyone I'd ever seen in my life, and that's coming from me, and almost as if he was going to get sick. I wanted to pull myself from Dianna's arm and run to the front of the room, pull him in my arms and tell him that I loved him, but before I knew it she was walking me down the aisle. I had to force myself to smile, force myself to walk up to the front and stand to the side, behind Darren.

I leaned forward, determined to tell Darren that he couldn't go through with this, but before I knew it that horrible song came on. All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen were up front, and Mia was walking down the aisle. I tried to act happy, but it was hard. I couldn't stand her. She looked like a vanilla cupcake threw up on her and she decided that that would do for a dress. I could tell Darren had the same thoughts as me.

She walked on up to the altar and took Darren's hands. I wanted to scream at her to let go, that I was the only person who should be able to hold his hands like that.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If any person here can show cause why these two people should not be joined in holy matrimony? Speak now or forever hold your peace," The minister said, stepping in front of the two as they held hands. Darren took in a deep breath and Mia smiled widely. I knew this was my chance, if I didn't do this I'd spend the rest of my life hating myself.

"Me!" I said loudly, not even realizing I had yelled it. Everyone's eyes went to me, but all I could feel was Darren staring at me. He had dropped Mia's hands and turned to face me.

"Chris…" he whispered, looking at me with wide, confused eyes.

"Darren, you can't do this, I know you don't love her," I said, hearing gasps all around me. I didn't care; I lost all caring about everyone in the room except for Darren. "I love you, Darren, I love you more than anything and I know for a fact that you don't want any of this."

I paused for a moment and looked into his eyes, trying to read into what he was thinking but it wasn't easy. He looked confused and almost… relieved. I took a deep breath and went on, "I'd never do this unless I knew for a fact that you weren't happy. I told you earlier that that's all I want for you. You aren't the kind of guy that should be marrying someone you don't love."

The room was completely silent except for the sound of my beating heart that I was sure everyone and their brother could hear. I took a step closer to Darren and lowered my voice, reaching out to take his hand before going on. "I'm not saying you have to end up with me, Dare, but I just want you to know that I do still love you and you deserve to be with someone who treats you right, and we both know that I'll do that… I shouldn't have let you go two years ago. I should have fought for you but I was young and stupid, and hell, I'm still young and stupid… but I need you, Dare. I need you and I love you, and I can't let you do this."

Darren was silent for a moment, looking at me with wide brown eyes. He moved even closer to me, leaning in gently so that his face was mere inches from mine. "I love you," he said. The room erupted in collective murmurs. I had barely noticed any of it, not the way Mia was going crazy behind us, not how everyone was looking at me in absolute horror. I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Come with me," I whispered, pulling on his hand as we broke into a run together out of the room, leaving everyone behind us. Neither of us could stop smiling. We ran straight out to my car, getting in and turning to look at each other.

"Thank you so much," he whispered, leaning in and kissing me fervently. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as I could considering we were in my car. The kiss was so long overdue, neither of us could help but to throw our everything's into the kiss.

Eventually we pulled away, smiling at each other gently. "I love you," he whispered, pressing a softer kiss to my lips. "I love you so much, Chris," his lips were barely brushing against mine and all I could do was smile up at him.

"Go away with me," I said gently. "Let's go to Hawaii or The Caribbean or The Bahamas or something, let's just get away from everyone for a while."

Darren smiled widely, nodding his head fast. "Someone's impulsive today," he said with a soft laugh. I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him down into his seat.

"Buckle your seatbelt, Dummy."

Two hours later we found ourselves at the airport, getting two last minute tickets to The Caribbean. Luckily Darren had a friend that had a beach house down there and with a quick call, and a quick explanation as to _why the fucking hell you aren't getting married today? _We had our own private beach house for a whole week. We held onto each other's hands, trying our best to avoid the snapping camera's we knew had to be following us around. We'd had a brief conversation about this in our fast paced packing session; we'd come to the conclusion that really, neither of us gave a fuck. We just wanted to be with each other.

We were thankful once we got on the plane that no one seemed to know who we were. It was also pretty nice that we were seated in the very back with no one sitting around us. All the first-class seats had been taken, but, again, we didn't care. All we cared that we were together.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Darren said gently, lacing out fingers together and snuggling his head into my shoulder. I smiled down at him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him a bit closer.

"Me neither. I thought by this time of the day I'd be drowning myself in alcohol because you were married…"

Darren raised his triangular eyebrows a bit, a confused look crossing his face. "You mean you didn't have the intention of crashing my wedding when you came?"

We both let out a small laugh before I answered. "No, actually I was going to be a good best man… until Chuck informed me that you still loved me."

Darren sighed and laughed again gently. "I was hoping you'd say something, I just didn't think you'd do it in front of everyone."

"I wasn't planning on doing it like that, but I couldn't find you. I really tried though, Dare. I didn't want to cause a scene; I just wanted you to know that I love you," I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Darren's nose, letting my lips linger there for a moment before moving so that I could wrap my arms around him as best I could in the airplane's seats.

"I love you too," he whispered, cuddling his head into my chest. I moved my hand to the side, grabbing my iPod and putting one headphone into my ear and another into my boyfriend's. We sat there for a while, listening to the songs that I knew were his favorite. Before I knew it Darren… my Darren… was dozing off on my chest.

Darren slept most of the flight. We were about thirty minutes till landing when he started to stir. I had been reading most of the flight, except for the times I was playing with his curls or smiling at the memory of what I had done today. I never thought I'd be one to crash a wedding.

"Mmmm… Chris?" he whispered, looking up at me with a soft, sleepy smile on his face.

I laughed gently and brushed his curls out of his forehead and put down my book. He was still cuddled into my chest when he woke up but moved to the side when he woke up. I pouted softly and gestured for him to put his head back down.

He rolled his eyes fondly at me and put his head down on my shoulder. "Have a nice nap?" I asked as I went back to playing with his hair.

"Amazing," he smiled, leaning up a bit to kiss my cheek. His lips lingered there for a moment and I tilted my head to the side so he could catch my lips with his. We both smiled into the kiss, nuzzling our noses together as we pulled away.

"I can't believe we're actually going The Caribbean together," the older man said with a wide smile. He looked like he was about eight and someone had given him a puppy.

I giggled at him and put my hand on his shoulder to keep him from bouncing. "I'm glad we are," I said, leaning in and pecking his lips once more. "I love you."

"I love you too…" he paused gently and took my hand in his, bringing my hand up to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to my hand. "Thank you for saving me," he added with a soft laugh.

"You think I was going to let the love of my life get married to someone I knew he didn't love?" I asked, giving his hand a soft squeeze and shaking my head. "I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you, Dare. It would have killed me."

Darren grinned softly, moving his spare hand to gently caress at my cheek. "I promise when _we_ get married, I won't run off with the best man."

We both laughed and I hit him on the arm playfully. I knew we'd definitely have to deal with a lot of crap when we got back to LA, but I knew neither of us cared _that _much. We were finally together, and even though I knew it wouldn't be easy, I knew it'd be a whole hell of a lot easier with Darren by my side.


End file.
